Beneath Konoha, at the Root base.
Here, the sun never shines, and the air is filled with a decaying, damp, and musty smell.
Countless intricate tree Roots coiled around the walls, appearing like the physical manifestation of the Village's dark side.
Danzo Shimura sat in a wide chair, leaning on his cane with one eye half-closed, his fingers tapping the armrest rhythmically.
Aburame Ryōma stood before him.
"It's been a month."
Danzo Shimura's voice was hoarse, echoing in the empty secret chamber. "That old geezer Hyuga Ieyasu—has there been any movement from him lately?"
Aburame Ryōma kept his head down, his voice devoid of emotion. "Still the same as before."
"In the name of passing down the Main House Bloodline, he spends every day indulging in pleasures in the backyard."
"However..." Ryōma paused. "According to the feedback from the insects, the frequency of his secret meetings with several other Main House Elders has increased lately."
"The specific contents of their conversations cannot be investigated."
"The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan is too sensitive to Chakra. Once the Kikaichū get close to the core area, they are discovered and eliminated."
"Hmph." Danzo let out a cold snort, his cane thumping heavily against the ground.
"Old fox."
"On the surface, he pretends to be obsessed with wine and women, but behind the scenes, he's making moves."
"It seems he isn't that interested in my proposal."
The path of controlling the Hyuga Clan through Hyuga Ieyasu didn't seem as smooth as imagined.
That old fellow was too slippery.
He neither explicitly refused nor substantially cooperated, just playing Tai Chi and trying to bet on both sides.
"Ryōma." Danzo slowly opened his single eye, which showed no signs of cloudiness. "Pack up."
"Accompany me to the Front Lines of the Land of Hot Springs."
Aburame Ryōma was slightly taken aback. He looked up at Danzo, his eyes behind the sunglasses filled with confusion.
He couldn't quite keep up with Danzo's jumping train of thought. Why the sudden departure from the Village for the Front Lines?
Sensing his subordinate's confusion, Danzo Shimura stood up and walked to the map of the Ninja World hanging on the wall.
His withered finger traced a long line across the map.
"The war with the Hidden Cloud Village has dragged on for too long."
"Iwagakure of the Land of Earth is stirring, the local wars in the Land of Rain are draining a lot of energy, and we also have to guard against a counterattack from Sunagakure of the Land of Wind."
"Konoha's military forces are currently too scattered."
"Being surrounded by enemies on all sides is a cardinal sin in warfare."
Danzo Shimura's finger pressed heavily on the location of the "Land of Hot Springs."
"We must end the conflict on this front as soon as possible."
"It's been some time since the ceasefire with Kumogakure. I'm going this time to sound out their intentions and see if a peace treaty is possible."
This was also to gain more political capital for himself within the Village.
If he could facilitate a peace treaty, it would be a major achievement.
"I understand," Aburame Ryōma nodded.
"Furthermore..."
Danzo Shimura turned around and walked out with his hands behind his back. "While we're at it, let's go and make contact with that Aokawa."
"Since the old one is hard to control, we'll try the young one."
"It's always right to have a backup plan."
Aburame Ryōma followed quickly, hesitating slightly. "But Lord Danzo, Aokawa is a Genius of the Hyuga Clan after all, and his personality seems quite stubborn. Attempting to recruit him directly might..."
"Stubborn?"
A contemptuous sneer curled on Danzo's lips.
"No matter how stubborn he is, he's just a brat in his teens."
"Coming from the Branch House, his horizons are limited."
"Young people his age always have inexplicable longings and fantasies about that mask and the title of 'Anbu'."
"They think it's glory, a symbol of being an elite."
Danzo Shimura stopped and turned his head, his gaze deep and eerie.
"How could he distinguish between the Anbu directly under the Hokage and the 'Root' that is planted in the darkness?"
"Just tell him it's for the Village, for the greater good."
"Then promise him some power that the Main House can't provide."
"Hot-blooded youngsters like him are the easiest to manipulate."
In Danzo Shimura's eyes,
In this world, there is no wall without a crack, and no corner that cannot be pried.
If there was, it was only because the bait wasn't enticing enough, or the brainwashing wasn't thorough enough... Land of Hot Springs Front Lines, late at night.
Moonlight like water spilled over the quiet woods.
Inside a hidden cave far from the camp.
Aokawa sat cross-legged, his upper body bare.
His muscle lines were smooth and firm, rising and falling slightly with his breath.
The surrounding spirit particles gathered very slowly, entering his body under the guidance of green Chakra.
After a moment, this state ceased.
He let out a long breath. "As I thought, taking the path of a Medical Ninja first was the right choice."
"With Medical Ninjutsu combined with spirit particles, the recovery is much faster than originally expected."
"Let's see if I can condense the Spirit Bow now."
He extended his right hand, palm upward.
Strands of pure blue spirit particles began to gather in his palm.
They intertwined and stretched, gradually outlining the silhouette of a longbow.
*Buzz—*
The Spirit Bow was successfully condensed.
The body of the bow emitted a faint halo, but its form was unstable, its edges constantly fluctuating and dissipating like boiling steam.
A look of joy appeared on Aokawa's face.
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before he could use the true power of a Quincy again.
Since his Transmigration, his unceasing physical training, combined with the subsequently developed Lightning Release Body Forging Method,
the foundation of this body had long since far surpassed its predecessor.
Because of this, he had finally survived the terrifying torrent of spirit particles from the Spirit Dissolving Gloves last time without completely losing his Quincy abilities like Ishida Uryū.
However, his Quincy abilities hadn't fully recovered yet.
If he encountered a powerful enemy outside, relying solely on Ninjutsu would still be insufficient.
Now that his Sealing Techniques have reached a certain level of proficiency, he could try the path of the "Evil Cultivator Immortal" he had envisioned before.
By storing some Sage Mode Chakra in his body, he could instantly activate Sage Mode at critical moments.
He put on his clothes, stood up, and walked out of the cave.
"It's getting late. Don't bite off more than you can chew; I'll head back to rest and continue tomorrow."
...Early the next morning, Aokawa woke up early.
He sat at the table, picked up some paper, and began designing the concept for the Evil Cultivator Immortal.
Although he hadn't learned the Yin Seal yet, according to Minato Namikaze's Chakra, it could be stored in Naruto's stomach for over a decade.
This showed that the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style and the Four Symbols Seal could store Chakra for a long time. Even if the amount wasn't as much as the Yin Seal, it was enough for his emergencies.
So, there were two ways.
One was to construct a Seal within the body to pre-store a sufficient amount of Chakra.
Then, based on the amount of Chakra in this Seal, construct another Seal on the outside proportionally.
Since Natural Energy was everywhere, this Seal could be left empty for now, and when needed, it could instantly inhale Natural Energy to fill it up.
Because of the isolation provided by the Seal, there was no need to worry about the erosion of the human body by Natural Energy.
After filling it with Natural Energy, undo the inner Seal, allowing the Sage Mode Chakra to be mixed in the perfect proportion in the shortest amount of time.
The other way was to directly Seal Sage Mode Chakra...
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